The Last Candle
by LanieSullivan
Summary: Married, but living apart...Amanda decides it's time to end that.


Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

Author's Note: A little one-shot that called out to me in the middle of the night and begged to be written. A plea to my readers, not to spoil the plot of other readers and a bit shout-out to my beta, Sheila for her careful review of this.

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Amanda let out a light sigh as she lit the last candle in the bedroom to set the proper mood and shook out the match. She gazed at the burning flame on her husband's nightstand for a moment lost in her thoughts for a moment. Any minute now he'd be walking through that door and just as he had on any number of other occasions when they'd spent numerous nights apart, the first thing he'd do is take her in his arms. Her body shivered slightly in anticipation, though her heart ached. They had spent way too many nights like that, married, but living apart. Tonight was the night, she'd decided that it was time for them to make a change.

Her mother was watching the boys so the time would never be better. _The boys,_ she thought. _How would this affect them?_ They'd be upset, she knew and she knew, too, that it would be a big adjustment to make for all of them, but she also knew that it was an adjustment that needed to be made and once the hurt was done, it would be better for all of them in the long run. No matter how much hurt it might cause, their family would be healthier and come out stronger for it with no more pretending and no more lies between them. She just knew it.

Shaking off those thoughts, she walked to the adjoining bathroom, dropped the burnt match into the wastebasket and examined herself in the mirror one final time. She turned first to one side, then the other admiring the way the satin and lace hugged her curves in all the right places. She knew they needed to have "the talk," but first she wanted one more moment with him not marred by a subject they'd been skirting for far too long. "Not bad for a mother of two," she mused aloud before she turned out the light and stepped back into the bedroom just in time to hear a breathy male voice saying her name.

"Amanda," his voice almost reverently whispered.

Wordlessly she rushed to meet him throwing her arms around his neck even as his were already encircling her waist, their mouths crashing together in a fiery duel of tongues and lips as they became reacquainted with one another again. She pushed at the leather jacket on his shoulders quickly forcing it to the floor, then worked furiously at the buttons on his shirt needing to feel his bare skin under her hands. Getting the first two undone, she broke their kiss, as she lowered her lips to his chest and murmured against his skin, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he concurred as he sighed at her touch and her nimble finger undressing him they way they had so many times before, her warm lips on his flesh setting him alight with desire. Once his shirt was discarded, he stopped her for a moment, raised her head to look into her eyes and said, "You look incredible." He smiled and nodded at the black gossamer gown she wore as he ran a hand up the long leg exposed by the slit in it all the way up to her hip.

"Thank you." She flushed slightly and blinked back the tears that had begun to form in her eyes, snaked one hand behind his neck to pull him down to her again.

Taking her cue, he complied, but his lips found their way to her neck this time, not her lips, to that tender pulse point that he knew made her weak in the knees as his hands cupped her tight bottom while he felt her moving her hands to work on his belt, letting out a low groan when she found her target and began to stroke him lightly, teasing him as she liked to do. Pulling back he toed off his shoes, shucked his pants and underwear, then lifted her into his arms just enough to lower her onto her back on the neatly-made surface of their bed, but he didn't immediately make a move toward her, instead just gazed at her appreciatively for a long moment.

"Please," Amanda whimpered, her voice taking on a desperate edge at the need that had built up inside her during their latest separation.

He nodded wordlessly, knelt in front of her and ran his hands up her thighs to her hips to slide the black lacy thong down her legs, toss it aside, then push the gown up to her hips, then urging her to sit up for a moment pulled it over her head so that she was just as naked as he was before he gently pushed her back down and joined her in their bed.

The next moments were nothing but a flurry of sensations for Amanda as they touched, teased and kissed one another. She mostly let him lead the way one last time before the words she had to say to him ruined everything. "Oh," she cried out, all thoughts of their upcoming talk pushed abruptly to the back of her mind when his lips found her center and began to suckle her, bringing her body to the brink more quickly that she could have imagined. She closed her eyes and cradled his head to her as wave after wave crashed over her, her body trembled uncontrollably and she called out his name in ecstasy.

When the tremors subsided, she opened her eyes to see he was above her, one hand on her hip gazing down at her intently as if asking permission to continue. "Please," she answered his unspoken question as she ran one hand down his jaw and he guided himself into her just as she raised up to meet him, inviting him in completely. "Take it slow."

He nodded, seeing the same thing in her eyes that the he knew before he'd come home tonight. This was it. Their last hurrah. The last time before everything changed. He slipped one hand behind her head, tangling his fingers in her long dark curls as he pressed one, lone tender kiss to her lips before the pair as if by mutual agreement began the oldest dance of all time.

Amanda sighed at she ran her hands down his muscled back, gasping and breathing heavily as the heady sensation their renewed union had invoked in her, reveling in the familiarity of his touch as they explored one another. He knew her body so well, knew every curve, every contour, every touch that sent shivers up her spine, knew how to take her to the highest heights and bring her the most pleasure just as she knew the same about him and used it to her full advantage during their coupling, both taking their time to fully enjoy every sensation until they finally lay side by side, spent and trying to catch their breath.

Gazing again at the candle's flame on his side of the bed as her heart rate finally slowed to normal, she thought of how to approach the subject at hand then glanced down at him to find him staring at the ceiling. Finally deciding, that she should just say it and get it over with, she tapped him on the chest with her finger to get his attention. When he looked at her warily as if knowing what was coming, she stated firmly, "Sweetheart, I love you, but this isn't working. I can't keep living like this."

She paused took a deep breath and continued as quickly as she could to just get it out there and be done with it. "I think we should get a divorce."

Nodding and turning back to the ceiling, Joe King replied, "I agree."


End file.
